some of you may remember that a few years back i bought a mini for next to nothing as a long term project...
after stripping it back to the bare metal, and redoing the sound/rustproofing, i'd started to paint it red before stopping as other things took up my time (uni, triumph, etc etc).
i'd had some pretty big plans for it but circumstances have changed - i can't really take my time with it as i need it on the road before next year, because my course has shifted out to a western university and i'll need to finish it while i'm still here with a shed. and a fuel efficient daily would help..

also pictured is the yellow mini, which runs but needs some cosmetic touching up standard 1100cc engine in it, will be a good benchmark.

with the original crappy white paint off (well i say it's original, but i think it was resprayed..with refrigerator repair paint) i'd started to paint it red as it wasn't intended for me anymore.
i changed my mind and began to fix it up, in order to coat it in ford's blueprint blue colour..
also found some 10x7 rims on a kerbside rubbish dump, which i've cleaned up in order to sell or use on the yellow mini provided i can get tires for them.

i also gave up on the idea of an engine conversion, partly because i'm too functionally retarded to do it and partly because as per quigg's thread it's just pissing money away.
at present the engine is a 1275cc clubman GT motor, currently in the acid bath, with a 12G940 head which is being ported and polished by a friend, then flow tested with a bunch of carby/manifolds i had lying around.
so nothing fancy/out there, so to speak, no twincam conversion, no starlet GT engine swap.

this is how it looked with the first coat on; i had to sand patches of it back in order to fill in some bumps etc but i thought it was okay for a first attempt.

note my super professional jig i have it sitting on, i.e. the outside coffee table i nicked from the patio.

this is where i'm at now. as you can see the panels aren't perfect, the bonnet for example has a little dint in the front, but i'm just going to have to keep at it (probably after it's on the road even)
this week i'll be doing the final stages of the paintwork, i'll post pics as i clean it up/buff it.

i sprayed it with black tar stuff that i think is advertised as a sound deadener, i think it prevents rust simply because it's thick and covers the metal, it's pretty hardy stuff. i did it quite awhile ago, i don't remember the details.

__________________
Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."